BACKGROUND:Our previous study found that Modified Erxian Pill could alleviate inflammation in collagen-induced arthritis rats,but its mechanism needs to be further verified. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the components absorbed in the blood of Modified Erxian Pill,and observe the effect of the drug-containing serum of Modified Erxian Pill on pyroptosis of J774A.1 macrophages. METHODS:(1)Analysis of components absorbed in the blood of Modified Erxian Pill:Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry was used to detect and identify Modified Erxian Pill and its components absorbed in the blood.(2)Effect of the drug-containing serum of Modified Erxian Pill on pyroptosis of J774A.1 macrophages:Molecular docking technology was used to initially verify the sesquiterpenoids and NLRP3 in components absorbed in the blood of Modified Erxian Pill.J774A.1 macrophages were randomly divided into blank control group,lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group,and lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate+Modified Erxian Pill with low(2.5%),medium(5%),and high(10%)dose groups.The release of lactate dehydrogenase in the cell supernatant of each group was detected according to the kit instructions.The levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-18 in cell supernatant were detected in each group by ELISA.The cell membrane damage was detected by Hoechst/PI staining.The expression levels of NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-N protein in the cells of each group were detected by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 32 active components of Modified Erxian Pill were identified,and 21 components entered the blood.The main components into blood included a variety of sesquiterpenoids.(2)Molecular docking results showed that 3-O-Acetyl-13-deoxyphomenone,Incensol oxide,Atractylenolide III,Rupestonic acid,and 3,7-Dihydroxy-9,11-eremophiladien-8-one had good binding activity with NLRP3.(3)Compared with the blank control group,lactate dehydrogenase activity and the expression levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-18 were significantly increased in cell supernatant of lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group(P<0.001).Hoechst/PI staining showed that the number of PI-positive cells was significantly increased.After the intervention of lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate+Modified Erxian Pill group,all of them showed different degrees of reduction.(4)Compared with the blank control group,NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-N protein expression levels were significantly increased in the lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group(P<0.05).Compared with lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group,the protein expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-N were significantly decreased in the lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate+Modified Erxian Pill group(P<0.05),and had a certain dose dependence.These findings verify that the drug-containing serum of Modified Erxian Pill may inhibit the pyroptosis of J774A.1 macrophages by regulating the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD pathway.

Purpose: To investigate the therapeutic potential of eliminating insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5 (IGFBP5) expression in improving erectile function in mice with cavernous nerve injury (CNI)-induced erectile dysfunction (ED). Materials and Methods: Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups: a sham-operated group and three CNI-induced ED groups. The CNI-induced ED groups were treated with intracavernous injections 3 days before the CNI procedure.These injections included phosphate-buffered saline, scrambled control short hairpin RNA (shRNA), or shRNA targeting mouse IGFBP5 lentiviral particles. One week after CNI, erectile function was evaluated and the penile tissue was then harvested for histological examination and western blot analysis. Additionally, the major pelvic ganglia (MPG) and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were cultured for ex vivo neurite outgrowth assays. Results: Following CNI, IGFBP5 expression in the cavernous tissues significantly increased, reaching its peak at day 7. First, ablation of IGFBP5 expression promotes neurite sprouting in MPG and DRG when exposed to lipopolysaccharide. Second, ablating IGFBP5 expression in CNI-induced ED mice improved erectile function, likely owing to increased neurovascular contents, including endothelial cells, pericytes, and neuronal processes. Third, ablating IGFBP5 expression in CNI-induced ED mice promoted neurovascular regeneration by increasing cell proliferation, reducing apoptosis, and decreasing Reactive oxygen species production. Finally, western blot analysis demonstrated that IGFBP5 ablation attenuated the JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway, activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and increased vascular endothelial growth factor and neurotrophic factor expression. Conclusions Ablating IGFBP5 expression enhanced neurovascular regeneration and ultimately improved erectile function in CNI-induced ED mice.

When prostate cancer （PCa） progresses to the metastatic castration-resistant stage， significant challenges arise in clinical treatment. Microtubulin inhibitors have become first-line drugs for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant PCa due to their unique mechanism of action. Among them， taxanes （e.g. docetaxel and cabazitaxel） remain standard care with proven survival benefits， while other microtubule inhibitors （e.g. vincristine， colchicine） show limited clinical utility due to toxicity. Currently， the clinical approach primarily employs docetaxel-based triple therapy and combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors to improve the prognosis of PCa patients， reverse the immunosuppressive state of the tumor microenvironment， and enhance therapeutic efficacy. Despite the remarkable clinical efficacy of microtubule inhibitors in the treatment of PCa， the emergence of drug resistance has limited their long-term application. To address this issue， researchers have explored new solutions， including the development of novel microtubule inhibitors in combination with ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 inhibitors， the concurrent use of fatty acid synthase inhibitors with microtubule inhibitors， and the development of degraders based on proteolysis-targeting chimeras technology. Future research should focus on target discovery， drug formulation optimization， and personalized approaches to overcome current therapeutic limitations.

By reviewing the research history on quality comparison between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs， this paper systematically combed the relevant research reports since the 1950s， and summarized and analyzed the results of existing comparative studies， and found that the existing comparative research on the quality of wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs were mainly focused on several aspects， including characteristics， microstructures， chemical compositions， pharmacodynamic effects， and genetic diversity. Among these， comparative studies of chemical compositions have been the dominant approach， with a particular emphasis on comparing the contents of index components. However， research on pharmacodynamic effects remained relatively limited. Due to various factors such as sample quantity， sample origin， growth period and cultivation methods， the differences in quality between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs vary significantly. In general， most wild Chinese crude drugs exhibited higher quality than cultivated products， with significant differences in their characteristics. The contents and proportions of some chemical components underwent noticeable changes， particularly with a marked increase in the proportion of primary metabolites after cultivation. The quality of cultivated Chinese crude drugs is closely related to the cultivation practices employed. Chinese crude drugs produced through wild nurturing， simulated wild planting， ecological cultivation， and other similar methods demonstrate quality levels comparable to those of wild Chinese crude drugs. Based on the analysis results， it is recommended to explicitly specify the cultivation practices and cultivation period of cultivated Chinese crude drugs in comparative studies of the quality between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs. Multiple technical approaches， including characteristics， microscopy， non-targeted metabolomics combined with quantitative analysis of differential components， and bioefficacy evaluation， should be employed to comprehensively assess the quality disparities between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs. Moreover， research efforts should be intensified to investigate the changes in pharmacodynamic effects resulting from differences in plant cell wall composition， primary metabolites， and secondary metabolites， in order to guide the production of high-quality Chinese crude drugs.

AIM: To quantify early changes of macular capillary parameters in type 2 diabetic patients using optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA).METHODS: Retrospective case study. A total of 49 healthy subjects, 52 diabetic patients without retinopathy(noDR)patients, and 43 mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy(mNPDR)patients were recruited. Capillary perfusion density, vessel length density(VLD), and average vessel diameter(AVD)were calculated from macular OCTA images(3 mm×3 mm)of the superficial capillary plexus after segmenting large vessels and the deep capillary plexus. Parameters were compared among control subjects, noDR, and mNPDR patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve estimated the abilities of these parameters to detect early changes of retinal microvascular networks.RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the VLD and AVD among the three groups(P<0.001). Compared with the control group, the noDR group had significantly higher AVD(P<0.05). VLD of both layers in patients of mNPDR group was significant decreased compared with that of noDR group(all P<0.01). Deep AVD had a higher area under the curve(AUC)of 0.796 than other parameters to discriminate the noDR group from the healthy group. Deep AVD had the highest AUC of 0.920, followed by that of the deep VLD(AUC=0.899)to discriminate the mNPDR group from the healthy group.CONCLUSIONS: NoDR patients had wider AVD than healthy individuals and longer VLD than mNPDR patients in both layers. When compared with healthy individuals, deep AVD had a stronger ability than other parameters to detect early retinal capillary impairments in noDR patients.

Objective To observe the effect of remazolam besylate on oxidative stress,inflammatory factors and CD4+/CD8+levels after gastric surgery in rats.Methods The rats were randomly divided into blank group(without anesthesia and operation treatment),control group(tail vein injection of 9 mg·kg-1 propofol injection,3 mg·kg-1 each time as required during operation),experimental-L,-M,-H groups(tail vein injection of 22,44 and 88 mg·kg-1 remazolam besylate injection,respectively,during the operation,15 mg was added each time according to the situation).Serum malondialdehyde(MDA)levels were detected by thiobarbituric acid method;the ratio of CD4+and CD8+T lymphocytes in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry;serum tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay;the expression levels of serum p50 and nuclear factor suppressor protein(IKBα)were detected by Western blotting.Results The levels of MDA in blank group,control group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups were(0.81±0.11),(2.37±0.20),(1.86±0.28),(1.32±0.19)and(1.05±0.23)mmol·g-1;the proportions of CD4+T lymphocytes were(29.24±2.81)％,(17.98±2.14)％,(20.96±3.47)％,(23.84±2.01)％and(26.41±2.95)％;the proportions of CD8+T lymphocyte were(17.28±2.13)％,(26.13±2.45)％,(23.85±3.04)％,(21.26±2.10)％and(19.32±1.98)％;TNF-α level were(62.54±7.47),(189.14±21.61),(127.42±14.52),(103.35±16.47)and(82.21±10.62)pg·mL-1;the levels of p50 protein in peripheral blood were 0.25±0.04,0.86±0.04,0.69±0.07,0.52±0.06 and 0.39±0.05;the levels of IκBα protein were 0.19±0.04,0.73±0.08,0.61±0.07,0.49±0.06 and 0.32±0.05,respectively.There were statistically significant differences between blank group and control group(all P＜0.05);there were statistically significant differences between experimental-L,-M,-H groups and control group(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Remazolam benzosulfonate may reduce oxidative stress and inflammation,and improve immune function in rats after gastric surgery by reducing the activity of nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND:Dexmedetomidine has the effect of anti-ischemia-reperfusion injury,but the comprehensive and systematic review of its signaling pathway is less. OBJECTIVE:To focus on the review of dexmedetomidine's signaling pathway in the mechanisms of antioxidant stress,inhibition of inflammation,anti-apoptosis,autophagy,and so on. METHODS:The relevant articles on PubMed,CNKI,WanFang,and VIP databases were searched by computer with the key words"ischemia-reperfusion inquiry;dexmedetomidine;signal path;oxidative stress;inflammation;apoptosis"in Chinese and English.After excluding repetitive research and some basic articles with low correlation,57 articles were finally included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Dexmedetomidine plays an important role in organ protection through many mechanisms,such as anti-oxidative stress injury,anti-inflammation,anti-apoptosis and autophagy.This involves many pathways,including Nrf2 and its downstream protein antioxidant stress pathway,Toll-like receptor 4 family and nuclear factor-κB-related anti-inflammatory pathway,JAK2/STAT3-related anti-inflammatory pathway,and cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway,and the cholinergic pathway is the upstream mechanism of many nuclear factor-κB signaling pathways.(2)PI3K/Akt pathway plays different roles according to its activated downstream signals,inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammatory body,activating signal molecules endothelial nitric oxide synthase,mammalian target of rapamycin,and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α to play an anti-inflammatory role,and activate Bad or Bax residues to play an anti-apoptotic role,and PI3K/Akt activates glycogen synthetase kinase-3β.It can also play an anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic role.(3)Dexmedetomidine activates SIRT3 to mediate anti-apoptosis and inhibit endoplasmic reticulum stress to produce anti-apoptosis.(4)The detailed review of the anti-ischemia-reperfusion injury signaling pathway of dexmedetomidine can provide a basis for future mechanism research and diagnosis and treatment decisions.

ObjectiveTo compare the differences in intestinal absorption of nanophase（NP） formed by single decoction and combined decoction of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma（GRR） and Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens（ZRR） in rats， and to investigate the effects of new NP formed by the combined decoction on the absorption of main components in GRR and ZRR. MethodDifferential centrifugation and dialysis techniques were used to enrich NP in the single and combined decoctions of GRR and ZRR， respectively. The microstructure， particle size， Zeta potential and concentration of the NP were analyzed by transmission electron microscope， particle size analyzer and nanoparticle tracking analyzer. Based on everted gut sac model， the index components in the intestinal absorption solution of NP from the single and combined decoctions were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS）. The per unit area actual value of cumulative intestinal absorption（Q_actual）， absorption rate constant（K_a） and apparent permeability coefficient（P_app） were used as the evaluating indexes to investigate the absorption characteristics of the aforementioned NP in the duodenum， jejunum， ileum and colon. ResultIrregularly spherical NP was present in the single and combined decoctions， and the contents of components in NP of the combined decoction were mostly lower than those in the single decoction. In these NP， ten components could be absorbed into the intestinal sac， with the main absorption site being the small intestine， and the P_app was greater than 1×10^-5 cm·min^-1. Compared with NP in the single decoction， the Q_actual and K_a of ginsenoside Rb₁， ginsenoside Rf， 4-gingerol and 6-shogaol were significantly increased in NP of the combined decoction， while ginsenoside Re and 6-gingerol were significantly decreased（P<0.01）. Except for ginsenoside Re and ginsenoside Rd， the P_app of the remaining constituents was significantly increased in NP of the combined decoction（P<0.01）. In addition， the maximum intestinal segment site of Q_actual was shifted forward for ginsenoside Rb₁， ginsenoside Rd and ginsenoside Ro， while shifted backward for ginsenoside Rg₁， ginsenoside Re and 8-gingerol. The maximal intestinal segment sites of K_a and P_app of ginsenoside Rb₁， ginsenoside Rg₁， ginsenoside Rd and ginsenoside Ro shifted forward， while ginsenoside Re and 4-gingerol were shifted backward. ConclusionThe combined decoction of GRR and ZRR is helpful to promote the absorption of the effective components of the two， and changes the absorption behavior of the effective components in some intestinal segments. This study provides a reference for the subsequent research on the compatibility mechanism of the two medicines.

Objective: To investigate the current status of milk tea consumption and its association with psychological distress among college students, so as to provide theoretial support for promoting the mental health of college students. Methods: From September to November 2023, a convenience sampling method was used to select 15 440 college students aged 17-24 from seven universities in Shanghai, Jiangxi, Hubei, and Shanxi. A self designed questionnaire and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale were used to assess milk tea consumption and psychological distress, respectively. The Mantel-Haenszel test was employed to analyze the trend of psychological distress at different levels of milk tea consumption. Binary Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between milk tea consumption and psychological distress, and the restricted cubic spline method was applied to explore the nonlinear relationship between milk tea consumption and symptoms of psychological distress. Results: The detection rate of psychological distress among college students was 59.6%. Univariate analysis indicated a significant trend association between milk tea consumption frequency ( χ 2 trend =42.33) and milk tea intake level ( χ 2 trend = 5.17 ) with psychological distress ( P <0.05). Binary Logistic regression models showed a positive association between different levels of milk tea consumption frequency and psychological distress [1-3 times (mild to moderate distress, OR =1.20,1.41), 4-5 times (mild to severe distress, OR =2.80,5.44,4.12), and ≥6 times (severe distress, OR =8.04); and milk tea intake level: 1-1 500 mL (severe distress, OR =1.35), >1 500- <3 000 mL (mild to moderate distress, OR =1.21, 1.35), ≥3 000 mL (mild to severe distress, OR =1.33,1.71,1.29)] ( P <0.05 ). The restricted cubic spline model showed a nonlinear association between milk tea intake and the risk of psychological distress ( F = 107.34 , P non linear <0.01, P overall <0.01). Conclusions High frequency and high volume milk tea consumption are associated with an increased risk of psychological distress among college students. Reducing the consumption behavior of college students milk tea is helpful to improve mental health.

Analyze the changes in phenolic components and gene expression profiles of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum leaves with supplemental blue light, and screen differentially expressed genes related to phenolic metabolism, providing a basis for improving the quality of T. hemsleyanum leaves. Using the leaves of T. hemsleyanum under supplemental blue light and visible light as research materials, the content of phenolic components such as neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, and 3-O-coumaroyl quinic acid was significantly increased by supplemental blue light. A total of 102 949 unigenes were obtained from the transcriptome, including 14 564 differentially expressed unigenes. They can be divided into 52 subclasses by gene ontology (GO) function, kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed that these differentially expressed unigenes were significantly enriched in phenolic metabolic pathways such as phenylpropane biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis and isoflavone biosynthesis. A total of 63 differentially expressed unigenes were identified in the pathways related to the biosynthesis of phenolic cpmponents, including 19 key enzymes such as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), flavonol synthase (FLS), and so on. This study greatly enriched the genetic data information of T. hemsleyanum and laid a foundation for analyzing the mechanism of blue light promoting the biosynthesis of phenols and molecular breeding of T. hemsleyanum.